Glenn Close, the lady who made Cruela DeVille come alive in Disney's "101 Dalmatians" was born March 19, 1947 in Greenwich, Connecticut. Her parent's, William and Bettine, were involved in a ultra-conservative Moral Rearmament movement which lead them to leave the town their patrician ancestors founded in the 1600's for Zaire. William, Close's surgeon father, organized and operated a medical clinic in Zaire for sixteen years. Close and her siblings (sisters: Tina, Jesse, and brother: Alexander) attending boarding schools in Zaire and Switzerland. Later they returned to Greenwich to live with their maternal grandmother. At this point Close chose to attend Rosemary Hall which she graduated from in 1965. In 1970 she attended the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, VA where she studied anthropology and acting.

Why did she wait five years before attending College? Moral Rearmament is why. Close became so caught up with the movement she joined a band "Up with the People" and toured around singing the virtues to all who would listen. It was during this period that she met and married Cabot Wade, a guitarist. After the breakup of this marriage in 1969, Close sought the comparatively safe haven of William and Mary where she honed her acting skills. Close was introduced to acting during her time at Rosemary Hall a exclusive girl's boarding school. While there, Close organized an acting troupe which they called the "Fingernails." Upon graduating from William and Mary, Close began her acting career with the New Phoenix Repertory Company. Her first lead role was in 1974 with the play "Love for Love" but it wasn't until she was cast as Charity Barnum in the Broadway play "Barnum" that she came to the attention of director George Roy Hill. Hill subsequently cast her in the role of Garp's (Robin Williams) mother in "The World According to Garp,"(1982) Close's first film and consequently her first Oscar nomination for "Best Supporting Actress."

Close has won numerous awards and has received many Oscar nominations, though she has yet to win one of the coveted Oscars. She has also been married twice and had a child out of wedlock during her extended relationship with producer John Starke. Anne Maude Starke (Annie) was born when Close was forty-one years old. Close is now engaged to a carpenter she met in 1995 on the set of "Sunset Boulevard," Steve Beers.

Close's roles are wide and varied. She has had much success over her career in movies such as: "Mars Attacks!," "Air Force One," "Mary Reilly," "Death and the Maiden," "Sunset Boulevard," and "The Real Thing." She hasn't stopped yet. She is scheduled to be seen in the upcoming films: "Soul Survivors," "Sable Island," and "Mother Love."